Worst Witch, The: Miss Cackle's Birthday Surprise (1998) Rating: Starring: Emma Brown, Clare Coulter, Kate Duchene, Georgina Sherrington, Una Stubbs Director: Andrew Morgan Category: Family Studio: BFS Subtitles: Length: 175 mins Want to buy?           "Move over Harry Potter! Here comes The Worst Witch!" -TV Guide Before Harry Potter, author Jill Murphy captivated audiences with her best-selling tales of Mildred Hubble, a hopelessly clumsy young witch-in-training. Murphy's wonderful stories are even rumored to have been the inspiration behind the phenomenal Harry Potter creation. Enter the gloomy halls of Miss Cackle's Academy for Witches, a school where chemistry class involves magic potions, final exams centre on spells and students ride broomsticks instead of bicycles. No matter how hard she tries, poor Mildred just can't seem to cut it: her incantations backfire and she cannot ride her broom without unleashing a calamity. Still, she never gives up trying, so join Mildred and her friends for plenty of riotous adventure and magical mayhem. Disc One: Miss Cackle's Birthday Surprise A birthday celebration for Miss Cackle is a long day full of boring chants and ceremonies in which the whole school is required to take part. Enid decides to liven things up by dragging Mildred into a closet, but sharp-eyed Ethel Hallow sees her chance to get them in trouble and locks them inside. Mildred was already received her last warning - this catastrophe is sure to get her expelled! The Great Outdoors The first-year girls embark on a special "no magic" camping trip. Unfortunately, they discover they must share their campsite with a troop of Canadian Boy Scouts. When the two groups are sent on a treasure hunt, Mildred's attempts to stop overly-competitive Ethel from cheating throws cold water on their outdoor fun. The Heat Is On A heat wave is baking the school. Tempers are short, so Miss Hardbroom takes matters into her own hands, assigning students the task to see who can concoct the most refreshing potion. Sabotage sneaks into the mix and Mildred finds her libation a little too hot to handle! Disc Two: Sorcery And Chips The school's potion lab is being modernized with all sorts of computerized gadgets and software. At first, the changes are impressive - until something evil takes hold of the machinery. Soon, it downloads plans to take over the world via the internet! Cam Mildred's old-fashioned methods banish it? Let Them Eat Cake The gang has a plan to sneak into Mrs. Cosie's Tearoom, a wonderful, but strictly off-limits, haven of delicious treats. During their illicit feast, they manage to overhear some mysterious patrons revealing a disturbing plan: the site of the tearoom is to be turned into a toxic waste incinerator! Can Mildred and her friends set things right before it's too late? Sweet Talking Guys The Chief Wizard and Miss Cackle have decided that the students need more practice in public speaking. A debate is arranged between the young witches and three apprentices from the local wizard's school. After the first half, it looks like the girls have it in the bag. Even Mildred does particularly well. Then, the boys try to fix the game with their magic "fizzy juice", which creates some unlikely "guest speakers". A Bolt From The Blue It is nearly the end of Mildred's first year at the Academy. One evening, a fierce wind blows through the school. Everyone seems fine afterwards except for Miss Cackle, who suddenly insists on expelling Mildred! Something is clearly wrong and Mildred suspects the culprit is Miss Cackle's evil sister. When she tries to find out what is going on, the result is a powerful showdown of magic!